Blue Mood

  I am all out of wack this week...   just  getting over   my  viral sinus  problems,,,  and   splitting my time  between home,   my mom's  house  getting it  cleaned out, painted, and ready   to sell, and  visiting with my parents in Assisted Living...   Sometimes I dont know if Im coming or going...   but  yesterday it was  just good to  stay home and  get  ready for  my dear friends today!...  My house  really needed a bit of attention!

 I have posted that I was inspired by cooling blues...  and  

  So  I  tried to allow the blue to spill out of the dining room and into  the living room a s well!


Robin's egg blue  silk pillows on the sofa ,  


  and an arrangement of  silk hydrangea on the floor by the fireplace 

the Jim Shore angel collection on the bookcase
 
 all add just the touch of blue to the room to  bring a bit of  coolness to the mood!
 I am also sharing on  
  Home  Sweet Home Friday

Show and Tell Friday 


Feathered Nest Friday 

Soup Glasses

This is the third Thursday of June   which means it is thrifting week at The Delightsome Life where Kathy hosts this  wonderful    theme  each week.

Previously I shared about  preparing for  my luncheon I had today....   and I was so inspired by the   wonderful  recipes  in  Tea Time magazine... when I saw the gazpacho  recipe    which I shared in the previous  post,  I  knew that would  be just the thing to take the heat off  our  visit!!   In the  first photo you  met  my dear friends, Dottie, Judy, Lynne, and Colleen!  and if you look closely,  you'll see our gazpacho, first course!...    But as I was  mixing up  the delightful  mixture,     I was thinking...  what one earth will I serve them in!
 I needed dainty  bowls,  or  glasses,  but alas, I had nothing...  then I remembered as I have been  dispensing with my mom's household  and  preparing their home for sale, I had cleared out her china cupboard and found 6 champagne glasses  that I had laid  aside for  an estate sale.... I hurriedly  sent  my hubby over to retrieve them...  and they were the perfect  serving size!!!

  Now  how  thrifty is that... free!!!   Now that isnt likely to happen to me anytime soon!     For me now  because I love  gazpacho so much, I need to keep these glasses....  I  now need to find  storage space for them...   That will come at a dear price, ...... I  need  storage space!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  

Sista Luncheon

Tablescape Thursday

It's Thursday,  and today  I  have been so privileged to  host my dear prayer sista's  for luncheon...

I am also  sharing on  Favorite Things Thursday..  because nothing  is more  fun to me than  that!!!

  

Of course, this still being hydrangea season,  I  cut some  lovely blossoms  this morning  and mixed in some  store bought white  mums  to  give an effect of daisies....  as I was  inspired by my  table topper I decorated with  blue  white, and yellow... very cheery indeed!

  It is so hot and humid here today, the cool blues were a  refreshing respite...

My white  South Hampton  china from Mikasa    on  alternating yellow and blue mats   suited the occasion.

I never tire of my  Zwilling J.A. Henckles, Vintage  1876

 stainless...   the quality, patina, and  weightiness of it  is timeless..!!

   

It  goes with  everything, every occasion!

When the ladies  first entered the dining room,     there was a collective, "ah,",,   the  cooling atmosphere   and tone of the  setting  was just so  right for  the hot morning..

To begin our  luncheon  I  was a delighted to serve  a new  recipe  for me....

  Ice cold gazpacho

3 cups spicy vegetable juice

1/3 cup chopped Roma tomatoes (approximately 3)

1 cup chopped red bell pepper

1 cup chopped green bell pepper

1/2 cup seeded and chopped cucumber

1/2 cup chopped red onion

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

 • In the work bowl of a food processor, combine 1 cup vegetable juice, tomatoes, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, cucumber, 

onion, cilantro, and garlic. Process to desired consistency.

Repeat with remaining juice and vegetables.

• Add lemon juice, Worcestershire, and hot pepper sauce. Cover,

and refrigerate for 4 hours.
I had received this recipe in an email from Tea Time magazine this week .. and inside that was a huge listing of wonderful tea party recipes found here,
and it was very simple to pull together this morning!!
I wish I had taken a photo of my salad... but things got so exciting I forgot... heheheh. but now that the fresh basil is so prolific I made a sliced tomato, fresh sliced mozzarella, and cut up fresh basil salad.. and I baked a loaf of tuscan bread served with creamery butter,, while the gals provided Chic Filet's chicken strips, slaw, and a fresh fruit bowl, and a most decadent chocolate pie from Marie Callendar! Might I add, a great time was had by all!!!!!!!!!!!

Skywatch

Check out Skyley for more wonderful photos!

Garden Stroll

This is the second Thursday of June   which means it is gardening week at The Delightsome Life where Kathy hosts this  wonderful    theme  each week.   And the second week of June  kicks off the opening of Glebe Hill gardens  where  Mr. Osborne has  created the most  fabulous    fairyland   showcasing  hostas and  day lilies of every  hue!

Paths meander through the  glade  revealing  surprises  all along the way!

  Many  places to  sit and   ponder the  beauty..  or  keep  exploring out into the open  sunshine  where  rainbows await  ..



 every  shade, every shape...

  Hundreds of  day lilies  to choose from  if you're of a mind to   purchase  some to take home with you,  but  my heart  always  drew me back to the glen....



Something so ethereal and    magically about the hosta garden...
  much like Dorothy on her way to OZ...
 
the paths  lead you on and on  on your voyage of discovery!

Or perhaps the  Hobbit in me  always seeks to find    that  hidden away  knoll  or  secret place...


   places where  the unexpected  will suddenly  take hold of you

 and you  wonder  

   there is so much to wonder  in God's  beautiful and    wonderful  gardens!

When one takes the time to  really  visit with  the Master Gardener

Flag Day

Happy Flag Day

Tablescape Thursday

It's Thursday, and    time to consider  fresh new tablescapes...    I am also  sharing on  Favorite Things Thursday..

I  can't be my grandfather's  oldest grand daughter without being  totally patriotic and    deeply  enthralled by the greatness of our nation...  Our Founding Fathers  were    giants among men...  dedicated to preservation  of our nation    through the  freedom documents they crafted...   securing  our freedoms and    rights  under  God's  laws  as  described in  the Bible...    it saddens me terribly that there are many in our government today  who  a re  trying to  remove God from every    part of our society    and rewrite  our  wonderful history...  I know we made  mistakes along the way and  have not been perfect, but    our history  shows that when other nations of the world were in  deep trouble they knew they could turn to us for  help and    aid...  our  compassion and    fight for their freedom is what set us apart from the world...

  SO  whenever we can celebrate our patriotism I love   to pull out the stops and    fly the colors...  Today is Flag Day!

Flag Day - the anniversary of the Flag Resolution of 1777 - was officially established by the Proclamation of President Woodrow Wilson on May 30th, 1916. While Flag Day was celebrated in various communities for years after Wilson's proclamation, it was not until August 3rd, 1949, that President Truman signed an Act of Congress designating June 14th of each year as National Flag Day.

  If it's Flag Day it's   time to put the  flag up and it will remain  through  the Fourth of July!

Sitting on the porch  I can  enjoy the  flutter of  the  Stars and Stripes    in the gentle  June breezes  of the afternoon..   and, of course ,   that inspires me to  set our  dinner out    in celebration!

  The flag    waves valiantly a t our house.. we proudly  raise the standard  to    commemorate the  bravery of  family and friends who served our nation  well and  courageously! 
 
So the table was set..
 
 I love my new  cloth  purchased this week at Kohl's for  half off!...   At $7.00 it was quite  a good price!!
 

  Lynn actually brought our dinner home tonight  from  church... barbecue  and baked beans    were tasty compliments to my fresh strung and cooked  green beans...   I couldnt believe my eyes  when I bought them  for  .69/lb yesterday at Krogers...  


So there you have my impromptu  patriotic    dinner for two!
A dinner that  comes that easily together leaves me plenty of time to take off my hat and  enjoy a chapter or two of Laura Child's  English Breakfast Murder Mystery!

And I  do thank  the Lord for  a bit of  time ...     that I truly was not expecting .....  when  I could just  take  time to  put this together tonight!!  What a blessing it was to me!